LITMIR.BIZ

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I know. You make up for it with all the other stuff that gets posted about you. God, I wish I had your social life. All those beautiful women. Maybe you can give me some advice?”

      “Where does she live?”

      “Malin? She’s got a place in Merriam Park. I’ve only been there a few times. Just to check on the place while she was out of town. It’s nothing like this place. Just an ordinary house.”

      Thom let those few nuggets of information roll around in his mind for a bit, curious about the woman who suddenly held so much power over him. He wanted to dig deeper, to find out every little detail about her. What did she eat for breakfast? Did she sleep in pajamas or the nude? Did she—

      Thom stopped himself. This was exactly the kind of thought pattern that had gotten him into trouble in the past. Once he’d decided he wanted a woman, there was nothing that stood in his way. It didn’t matter how long it took or what he had to do to get her into bed. In the end, he always made it happen.

      A voice from the TV caught his attention. “A late-breaking report regarding your Minneapolis Blizzard.”

      Both Jason and Thom turned to look at the television.

      “Trade rumors are swirling, and at the center of the storm is Blizzard defenseman Tommy ‘The Beast’ Quinn. Sources say his off-ice shenanigans haven’t been sitting well with team’s owner, Davis Pedersen. Is Quinn on his way out? Fans are not going to be happy. We’ll have an exclusive on our late report.”

      Thom stared at the television for a long moment. With a soft curse, he shut the television off and tossed the remote on the coffee table. “She told me I wasn’t going to be traded,” he muttered. Launching to his feet, he turned to Jason, looming over him in his most threatening manner. “What do you know about this?”

      “I—I— Nothing. They don’t tell me anything. I swear.”

      “Come on. I want you to show me where she lives. Miss Pedersen and I have some things to discuss.” Thom shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out the keys for his truck. When Jason didn’t move, he said, “Don’t you have to go with me?”

      “She’s probably still at the office,” Jason said.

      “I’m not going to talk to her there.”

      “You can call her,” Jason suggested. He held out his cell phone.

      Thom shook his head. “No, this has to be done in person. Why would she lie to me? I mean, I went in there fully expecting to be traded. And then she decides to put me through this crap. Locked up like a prisoner with you reporting my every move. What’s that all about?”

      “I don’t know,” Jason said. “But I do know that if I show you where she lives and you go there, she’s going to fire me. Can you just sit down and we’ll order a pizza?”

      “No,” Thom snapped. “I want this settled now.”

      He walked to the front door, not bothering to wait for Jason. When he reached his truck, parked on the street, he got inside. As he slipped the key into the ignition, Thom heard a rapping on the window. Jason stood at the passenger door, a stricken expression on his face.

      Thom unlocked the door and the kid hopped inside. “I can show you where she parks. We could wait for her there. She always leaves the office at five. If she has to work late, she comes back after dinner.”

      “Five,” Thom said. They had fifteen minutes to make a ten-minute drive. At least it would give him a bit of time to figure out exactly what he wanted to say.

      Hell, he should have known not to trust her. She wasn’t on his side. She was the daughter of the damn owner. Of course she’d side with her father. Well, he was going to fight this trade. Why lie down and let the team walk all over him? If he wanted to, he could make things very difficult for them.

      He knew there was a morals clause in his contract, a section that directly addressed bad behavior. Beyond his youthful criminal record, Thom’s “rap sheet” was long and colorful. The brawls—with fellow players, with fans, with bartenders and limo drivers and bouncers and parking attendants—were probably the most egregious.

      The women followed a close second. Though they didn’t cause as much legal trouble as the brawls, they were a distraction, especially when one decided to spill her secrets to a gossip website.

      Until recently, Thom had been able to keep the drinking pretty much under control. But now, there seemed to be more reasons to drink than reasons not to. It wasn’t just something he did to relax anymore. Getting drunk was the only way he could shut off the constant hum in his head, turn off all the questions rattling round in his mind.

      Life used to be pretty simple for him. He played hockey and he did it better than almost everyone in the league. It provided for him and his family. But now, it seemed that with every year that passed, his life grew more complicated. What would he do when he couldn’t play hockey anymore?

      Thom had vowed that he’d get out of the game gracefully. He never wanted to be one of those guys who hung around trying to recapture lost glory. He wanted to go out on top. But how could he be sure the time was right? And what would he do once hockey was over for him?

      “It’s right here,” Jason said, pointing to the parking ramp.

      Thom turned into the entrance and grabbed a ticket, then steered the truck up the levels. “What kind of car are we looking for?”

      “She has a dark green Audi. It’s usually on the fourth level.”

      Thom found the car and pulled into a spot across the aisle from it. He shut off the truck, then nervously tapped the steering wheel with his fingertips. “What time is it?”

      “A few minutes before five. She should be coming along any minute.” Jason slouched down in the seat. “What are you going to say to her?”

      “I don’t know,” Thom said. The drive over had been too short to untangle the knot of emotions in his gut.

      “Don’t you think you’d better figure it— Wait. Someone’s coming.”

      “Is it her?”

      “Yeah, it is.”

      They each watched in their side view mirrors as Malin strolled past. Thom reached for the door and then, at the last minute, decided to wait. “She’s gorgeous,” he murmured.

      “You think so?” Jason asked.

      “Don’t you?”

      “Well, she’s my cousin, so I really don’t look at her that way. And I’m really more attracted to brunettes than blondes.”

      Malin got into her car and slipped behind the wheel. Thom held his breath, waiting for just the right moment. When she began to back out of the parking spot, he knew the moment was at hand, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to get out of the truck.

      He didn’t want their next encounter to be an argument. And he certainly didn’t want it to happen in a parking lot with Jason looking on.

      “She’s driving away,” Jason said.

      “Yeah.”

      “I don’t get it. Everybody says you’re legendary with women,” Jason murmured.

      “Most of that is just talk,” Thom said. “Most of the time I have no idea what the hell they’re thinking. Or what I’m doing.” He reached for the ignition. “You know what? I could use a drink. Let’s go to a bar.”

      “I’m not supposed to—”

      “Jason, if we’re going to get along, you’re going to need to learn that the rules just don’t apply to us. Got it?”

2

      SLEEP DIDN’T COME easily

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